Woman Walks Ahead Page #2

The warriors had stumbled across

some Swedish immigrant children

walking to school.

The little girls had blue

ribbons tied up in their hair.

Mr. Groves, I've no doubt...

...terrible things have

happened here in the past.

The past?

You ever wish you were

young again, Mrs. Weldon?

I mean really young, 18.

No mistakes.

Still strong, still free.

Well, on this reservation

there's a whole nation

wants to be young again.

But their youth

isn't in the past.

Their youth lives in a log cabin

20 miles west of here

down a dirt road.

Their youth

is called Sitting Bull.

This is my other reason

for dropping by.

I'm afraid there's a...

a little blood.

Blood?

That old Indian stole your

trunk, drank the turpentine,

so, when the police

went to get your stuff,

he was drunk, pulled a gun,

so they shot him.

Maybe you want to put that in

your letter to your congressman.

[DOOR SHUTS]

- [BIRDS TWEET]

- [CARRIAGE PASSES]

[DOOR BANGS]

[CHASKA] Mrs. Weldon!

Time to go.

I'm not leaving.

Oh!

Did Sitting Bull even get

the letter I sent him?

No. Agent burnt it.

He burnt it?

Well, naturally.

He's God Almighty here, right?

I read it, though,

before he burnt it.

Is it true

you've painted senators?

Before I married,

I used to paint commissions

for the Smithsonian.

I wanted Sitting Bull to know

that I've painted

important people before.

[DOG BARKS]

This isn't the way

I came from the station.

Where are we?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[KNOCKS]

- [DOOR OPENS]

- [CHASKA SPEAKS LAKOTA]

[SHE SPEAKS LAKOTA]

He's in the fields,

digging potatoes.

- Who is?

- My uncle.

Sitting Bull.

[GRUNTS]

There he is.

[SPEAKS LAKOTA]

My name's Catherine Weldon.

I'm deeply honored to meet you.

[THEY SPEAK LAKOTA]

What happened?

Don't I get an explanation?

I had this stupid idea

you might be able to help us.

Help with what?

I've got friends from Indian

school, Kiowas, Comanches,

and last summer a new treaty

took half their land,

and this winter it's our turn

but no-one here gives a damn.

The young ones just get drunk

and the old ones,

they dance a ghost dance.

[CHASKA] My uncle?

He says his day is done.

He'd rather dig damn potatoes.

What good

do you think I could do?

I thought you could get

a message to your senators.

Maybe they would listen

if it came from Sitting Bull.

Let's go.

I want to speak to him.

So, speak to him. He speaks

English well enough.

When he wants to.

Excuse me.

I have traveled many miles

from the east...

...across many...

...rivers and hills...

...for the honor

of speaking with you.

You got a train

from New York, right?

Did you get a Pullman?

- Yes.

- Nice.

They gave me free cigars too.

I have a proposition.

So, who have you painted before?

Oh, Congressman Tom Ochiltree

from Texas

and Senator Eamonn Brooks

from Idaho.

So, how much?

How much for what?

For painting someone's picture.

Oh, I usually charge $40

but in this case...

I mean how much

would you pay me?

I'd be happy to pay you $50.

$100.

[SINGS LAKOTA SONG]

$500.

$1,000.

That's a lot of money. I...

I don't have that kind

of cash with me.

There's a First National Bank

in town.

$1,000 it is.

Do we have a deal?

What?

It's raining.

[RAIN POURS]

How long has it been

since it rained?

When Lakota first meet,

we don't speak for a while.

Oh.

Words get in the way

of getting to know each other.

Sorry.

You could throw some wood

on the fire, though.

Lakota likes a woman

who works hard.

[SPEAKS LAKOTA]

That's not firewood.

That's furniture.

Oh! Oh.

Maybe I could make some coffee?

Well, to make coffee,

you'd need coffee.

- [DOOR RATTLES]

- [LAUGHTER AND CHATTER]

[WHISPERING]

The children want to see

the woman who brought the rain.

I've cleared this cabin for you.

Oh!

What will you tell McLaughlin?

That I put you on the train.

You climbed off again.

He trusts you?

He thinks I spy on my uncle

for the Agency.

But it's the other way around.

[SCREAMS]

[WHISPERS] What do you want?

[SPEAKS LAKOTA]

[SPEAKS LAKOTA]

Who was that?

Shell King.

This used to be his cabin

until I told him to leave.

He looked so...

...magnificent.

- [BELL CHIMES]

- [PEOPLE CHATTER]

[WOMAN] I needed to go to

the store the other day, but...

Kira! Kira, you come back here.

Do you always walk this fast?

Why?

I'm trying to get ahead of you

before someone sees us.

You don't walk ahead of a chief.

Should I walk behind?

Side by side is fine.

[BREATHES HARD]

Are you alright?

Walking so fast

has loosened my bullets.

Oh. What bullets?

I have four bullets

still in my body.

They move around.

What does your husband think

about you coming here?

I'm a widow.

- I'm sorry.

- I'm not.

Mrs. Weldon.

May I speak with you in private?

- What do you want?

- I'm here to rescue you.

Rescue me?

Hear you got yourself kidnapped.

These men are gonna

escort you to Cannon Ball,

catch the next train

heading east.

That's very kind of you,

Mr. Groves. Go to hell.

Mrs. Weldon,

Dakota territory is hell.

Since I've been here,

I've seen deplorable conditions

and I hear the treaty

you are here to serve

will only make things worse.

Look here, it's time

you get on that train

and report back

to your seditionist friends

in Greenwich Village.

Well, If I take the train,

I can be in Washington D.C.

by Thursday.

The editor of "The Post"

is an investor in my father's

shipping business.

From his office I will go

direct to the Senate,

then to the Bureau

of Indian Affairs,

and finally accept a

long-standing dinner invitation

with former

Vice President Buckley.

[WHISTLES]

You know, it'd be

kind of unfortunate

to meet all those important

people without all the facts.

So, the truth is important

to both of us. Good.

Maybe you should stick around

till General Crook gets here

and I have the final draft

of the treaty.

[LOWERS VOICE] Mrs. Weldon,

do not give him reason to hope.

No-one here's forgotten

and forgiven,

least of all General Crook

and the Seventh Cavalry.

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse

massacred the Seventh

at Little Bighorn.

I don't need a history lesson.

It's not history

till it's over...

...and for the Seventh,

[WHISPERS] ...this isn't over

until Sitting Bull's dead

and if they kill him, half the

Sioux Nation'll throw themselves

against the American Army

and Little Bighorn

will be avenged.

You follow?

I'm just here

to paint a painting.

Whoa!

Welcome to Fort Yates,

General Crook.

Mr. McLaughlin.

- Where's the Bull?

- A painter came from New York.

Seems to appeal

to Sitting Bull's vanity.

He's having

his portrait painted,

while his people

dance with ghosts.

He's not gonna be

a problem, sir.

He's shown no interest

in opposing the commission.

Get a message to this painter

and tell him I'd like him

to join me for dinner.

It's a woman, actually.

Man, those New York ladies

love a bad man, don't they?

Invite her to dinner anyway.

This is the suit I wore

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